Keep Your Eyes Open
by kayla.m-r
Summary: Sequel to Please Don't Leave Me / Maya kept a secret diary where she had written in during and after she was kidnapped the previous year. When the diary is stolen, the anonymous culprit learns the Matthews' strengths and weaknesses and it's only a matter of time before the family realizes that all of the problems they faced were not over as they had thought they were.
1. Anniversary

**AN: First of all, I'm so sorry for being so late on publishing this, but I haven't given up on it! It's taken a lot of time to develop the plot to this story mainly because I needed a realistic situation that continued Please Don't Leave Me and had the same action as the first one. So I hope you like this sequel story, "Eyes Open" (based off the Taylor Swift song). I wrote this and co-edited it with one of my close friends by the pen name on this website** ** _Stay Gold - Pebblemist._** **Check out her stories, she's so amazingly talented. On another note, if you haven't read Please Don't Leave Me, I suggest you do before you read this story. But you don't have to listen to me. And if you do, note that in pdlm, the girls are 13/14 like in the show, NOT 12.**

 **Disclaimer- I don't own Girl Meets World... Yet ;).**

 _Dear diary,_

 _I don't even know what happened. One minute I was on my way to Riley's apartment and before I knew it I was tied up inside the trunk of Rick's car. I don't know where he took me but I know it's far enough to keep me away from the Matthews and the rest of the world for God knows how long. He drove for about two hours before dragging me out of the car by my hair and into a small house surrounded by trees. He said this was what my mom wanted... I don't even know where my mom is. Is she hurt? Did Mr. Matthews confront her? Why wasn't she here if this was what she wanted? Rick said I could write in this if I wanted... I guess it'll keep me busy. He said he'll keep me as long as he can and I hope that won't be long... I'm terrified. I wish I were with Riley. I wish someone could come save me and show me love for just once in my life._

* * *

Maya kept rereading those words which brought back memories of endless tears, bloodshed and fear. The very thought of the unforgotten remainders of screaming and crying during her past experiences made the fourteen year old shudder. She could still feel Rick's strong fist brushed against her cheek and distinctly remembered how it felt to be constantly degraded and put down by him. But today the feelings were stronger than ever and her pain was slowly crawling back to her. The date was January 16th- exactly one year since the day she was taken away from the people whom she loved and was forced to live in shame and isolation.

She gently placed the diary beside her on her night table as she let her head slowly sink back into the comfort of her pillow. Maya already knew that the day would be a struggle. Glancing over to the other side of the room, she noticed that Riley was still soundly sleeping. It was 6:15 on a Sunday morning; why shouldn't she be asleep? Maya only wished her best friend were awake, just so she could share her feelings with someone.

"Should I show it to her?" Maya wondered aloud in a hushed tone so she wouldn't awaken her sleeping friend. She once more took hold of her diary and examined it closely although she wasn't paying attention to the details. Ever since she was rescued, she had never shown or even mentioned the diary to Riley. The police found it and mailed it to the Matthews old apartment, where Maya opened it and refused to share it with anyone. Considering the fact that it was the first anniversary since that tragic day that changed her life forever, maybe she could open up a little more about her experiences.

When she deeply thought about the subject, Maya realized that she didn't even really tell Riley or even anyone much about what went down inside Rick's cabin. Of course, she explained the types of abuse taking place and briefly discussed the fear that lingered within her for those three scary months; however, she never went in depth about anything. She wasn't ready when she was reunited with her friends and the Matthews and when she was, let's just say that she and Riley weren't on friendly terms.

Sighing, Maya once more reached over to place the book down with one hand when it was too heavy and her fingers gave out on her. The diary landed with a thud, causing Riley's eyes to softly flutter open.

"Maya, what happened?" she whispered tiredly, wiping the sleep away from her eyes and groggily sitting up straight. "You okay?"

"Yea, I just dropped something," Maya said apologetically. "Sorry for waking you. Go back to sleep."

Riley's lips pursed into an inward smile. "You know me," she yawned. "Once I'm awake, I can never fall back asleep."

"Well, good. Because I'm wide awake."

Riley gingerly stood up and made her way over to Maya's bed, plopping herself next to her best friend. "Are you alright, Maya?" she asked, her bright brown eyes showing sincerity and concern.

"Yea, why wouldn't I be?" lied Maya, pretending as if nothing was bothering her.

"You don't have to pretend," comforted Riley, catching on to Maya's thoughts. "It's been a rough year."

"Riley, you don't have to do this," Maya insisted, breaking eye contact with her friend. "Please, just go back to sleep."

Riley sighed. "Okay, but I know you'll try to shut everyone out today. I also know that deep down, you really need me to talk to you."

Maya's head dropped as she felt defeated. "Riley... I'm just not over what happened. I will be someday and I'm on a good path to recovery but... It'll be a rough day."

"I know, and that's okay," Riley cooed, wrapping her arm around her best friend. "But it's all over now. No one's ever going to hurt you anymore."

Maya bit her lip, replaying Riley's words in her mind. That was one thing she wasn't so sure of. She always knew her dad left and that by doing that, he was hurting both Katy and herself. Then when she moved on from that fact, she thought no one would hurt her anymore. That's when she began to notice how unmotherly and abusive her mom was towards her, and when she finally escaped those living conditions, she was kidnapped and tortured. When she was rescued, Rick came back and stalked her for months, kidnapped her again, shot her and murdered a loved one. How could she be certain that all of the negativity in her life was officially over with?

"I don't know Riles..." she began after her long silence, her voice trailing off as her forced back cries choked her. She hated breaking down into sobs, and especially on a day like this, she would have to push herself to resist.

"What do you know?" questioned Riley. "Maya, you're perfectly safe. Don't ever forget that."

Gulping back all of her worries and concerns, Maya forced a smile across her lips and smiled at her best friend. "I won't," she said softly, although her smile wouldn't deceive Riley.

Riley let out a deep sigh, adjusting her position so she could face Maya. "I remember it as if it were yesterday," she said, changing the subject. "It seems so long ago but it's still real to me whenever I think about it. So much happened since then."

"You can say that again," mumbled Maya, blowing a strand of loose hair away from her eyes. "I still can't really believe that all of that ever happened. Life kind of just went by and I feel like I was left behind. I was never able to adjust to anything."

"We're still adjusting," Riley added. "But we're all good now, right?"

"I guess," sighed Maya. She knew that life was better, but she still had doubts. It's only been a year since she'd been kidnapped, 9 months since she'd been rescued and only 7 months since the man responsible for her pain left her life. The trauma was still there and the scars hadn't faded. Just because the Matthews started a new life away from the city didn't mean that all of there problems had evaporated into thin air.

Riley took a deep breath as she closed her eyes and reminisced the day she realized Maya was missing. "I remember how worried we were when you went home with your mom," she said. "We just found out about how she treated you and didn't want you to leave with her. Then at dinner my parents told me you ran away... Then at school we called you and... Well, it wasn't you who answered the phone-"

"I know," Maya interrupted her, not wanting to listen to the story anymore. "I remember too."

"Because of Missy," continued Riley. "Oh, Missy."

Maya chuckled softly although she knew that it wasn't necessarily a laughing matter. "She was... Interesting," she stated honestly. "But I don't feel bad anymore. She knew everything about both me and Rick and even if we hated each other all along, she still betrayed me. Just because she's gone now doesn't take back all of the bullshit she put us through."

"Yea," Riley said softly, twiddling the ends of her hair. Maybe Maya was right; Missy wasn't a good person. But when it was all over, a 14 year old girl was dead. She had her whole life ahead of her, and that just proves how nonsensical the whole situation was.

"Riley?" Maya asked quietly, breaking a silence lingering between the two girls.

"Yea?"

"What do you think would've happened... If I didn't run away? If I just sucked it up and stayed with my mother for a little longer... How would our lives be different?"

Riley shrugged as thoughts soared through her mind. "I don't know," she started, trying to develop the worst possible case scenario though it seemed impossible. "Well, if you stayed with your mom, that wouldn't change the fact that my dad still called the police. You would come to live with us and... And I guess we'd still be in Manhattan."

Manhattan. The very word was enough to brim tears in Maya's eyes. She missed everything from Rockefeller Center at Christmastime to riding the smelly subway to school everyday. She missed the smell of hot dogs on the street and the bright lights of Time Square. She missed going to Broadway shows with the Matthews, all of the thrift shops where she would put together her outfit ensemble and even the smell of smoke in the cold air, but most of all, she missed some her closest friends; Lucas Friar and Farkle Minkus. Brett too, of course, but he didn't matter to her as much. He was just a crush.

"Maya? You okay?" Riley asked with concern. She could tell how much her friend missed home; after all, Riley's own heart was breaking at the thought of New York. She understood that they moved to Pennsylvania for the best, but she couldn't help feeling a bittersweet nostalgia as the word "Manhattan" rolled off of her tongue.

"Yea, yea, I'm good," lied Maya, quickly wiping the tears away from her eyes. "Just tired, that's all."

"Maya, we all know it's gonna be a sad day for you," Riley consoled despite Maya's claims to be fine. "It's a sad day for all of us. Just... Hang in there. We love you."

"I love you too," Maya smiled. "But I promise, I'm okay. I... I just need to show you something."

Maya didn't want to hide anymore secrets from Riley. She had to be completely honest and free; she had to share how she felt and how things really were. She was ready to speak. She handed Riley the diary.

"Rick gave this to me so I could write in it," she explained as Riley examined the book. "I wrote every day. After the police mailed it to use when I was back home, I didn't show anyone. I was too embarrassed, I guess. I would write in it sometimes when Rick came back and I couldn't talk to you but I just gradually stopped. You can read it if you want."

Tears flooded to Riley's eyes after reading the first entry. She slowly closed the diary, handing it back to Maya. "I just can't believe you never showed me."

"Riles, I'm so sor-"

"No, I'm not mad," Riley interrupted. "It's okay. You weren't ready. But I have an idea. Let's read a different entry every day and we can see how you progressed ever since. Sound good?"

"Great," Maya smiled.

* * *

"Maya, are you positive this is what you want?" Cory questioned, worries popping up in his mind as he carefully steered his car through the woods. He still couldn't reason with why the girl would want to spend the anniversary of the day she got kidnapped in the house where she was held captive.

"I have to," Maya shrugged. "I have to take one last look at the house in order to realize that everything bad that took place in there was gone. If I don't, maybe I'll feel like it's always right behind me. I just need to be reminded that it's all over one last time."

"My best friend is so brave," Riley said sweetly, wrapping her arm around Maya in the back seat. "I'm so proud of you, Maya."

"Shut up," teased Maya, feeling somewhat embarrassed. This trip wasn't supposed to shame her but to strengthen her.

Riley sighed, looking out the window. She could still remember these forests. She could remember driving with her dad through the endless trees, thinking that they were heading towards Philadelphia. The next thing she knew was that she was hearing piercing screams from her best friend whom she hadn't seen in three months.

"We're here," Cory declared as Maya rushed out of the car. She took a few moments to stare at every detail of the house and a single tear streamed down her cheek. Once she was taken into the house, she never got out until she was saved. So much happened in that cabin; too much to ever forget.

"I'm going inside," she stated. She just had to see the room where she was locked up for so long once more. She had to sit in the place where she would cry endlessly. She had to look at the window which she would stare out of as hope began slipping away from her.

"Maya, I don't think you can," Riley informed her, pointing out the yellow tape stretched all around the cabin. "Remember, they're preparing to knock the house down in a few weeks!"

Maya looked down, hoping Riley would understand her. "I don't care, Riley," she stated. "It's something I have to do that you won't understand because you weren't stuck here for three months. You don't know what I went through in here."

"I could only imagine, Maya, but you can't-" Riley began, but stopped as Cory rested his hand on her shoulder.

"Let her go, Riley," he sighed. Personally, he would rather Maya didn't go inside either. It would bring back too many traumatic experiences for her and all of those months healing and recovering would be wasted. But if he knew anything about Maya, it was that she was very stubborn. She wouldn't take no for an answer.

"I'll be okay," Maya tried to reassure them, stressing the 'okay'. "I just want to go by myself."

Without further ado, the fearless girl crawled under the tape and gingerly opened the door. Taking a deep breath, she re-entered a place where she spent the most traumatic experiences of her life. Where her innocence was stolen, her childhood was damaged, her dreams were crushed and her freedom was terminated.

She wandered a few steps in the hallway before dropping her bag at the sight of the room where she stayed. She ran over to the room and fell to her knees for no apparent reason. She didn't have what it took to cry but she clearly was very upset. She body was numb and her chest was aching.

"It's okay," she reminded herself as she slowly stood up and roamed around the room, noticing how nothing much has changed. "It really is over."

She looked to her right and saw a chair. Ugh. The chair where she was tied up when Rick explained his reasons and methods to Maya exactly one year ago when he had just taken her.

To her left was the bed- no, cot, where she would lay awake at night, dreaming of perfect scenarios of how she could be somehow taken away to a better place. Her hope may have been slipping away from her but she never lost touch with her dreams. When Rick took everything away from her, her dreams were the only thing that she had left. He could try to crush her dreams and say how unrealistic they were, but he could never stop her from doing so.

After a few minutes of reminiscing painful memories, Maya reassured herself that everything really was only a part of her past and her past didn't define her, but she still just couldn't stand to be in the house alone again. Taking one last look at everything, she picked up her bag and slowly left, never turning back.

"That was quick," Cory inferred, leading Maya and Riley back to the car. "You're okay, right?"

"Yep," Maya said, "I'm good. Can we go out for lunch like you said earlier?"

Cory smiled, pulling the two girls into a hug. "No, we can't," he said sarcastically. "Let's go."

They drove away from the house, never intending to come back. Little did they know that Maya's diary fell out of her bag and it was still laying on the ground of Rick's old cabin.

And that it was found and stolen by someone they didn't ever want to know.

 **Okay, so there's the first chapter. I hope you liked it and let me know if I should continue! Please leave in the reviews how you felt and what you'd like to see next. Thanks for reading!**


	2. Stolen Diary

**AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed or favorited this story! Thanks for your support and I hope you'll all like chapter 2!**

 **Disclaimer- I don't own GMW**

* * *

"Okay, what countries were a part of the Axis Powers?" Riley tested Maya as the girls prepared for their upcoming history quiz. Riley noticed how Maya was gradually becoming a better student, but that didn't necessarily mean that she was future Miss Valedictorian. Sure, she wasn't failing her classes, but she still couldn't care less about school.

"Germany and Ireland, I don't know," Maya said effortlessly, blowing a bubble of gum in Riley's face.

Riley sighed tiredly, tucking a strand of loose hair behind her ear. "Maya, Ireland wasn't even fighting in World War II," she explained.

"Hey, at least I got the Germany part right," Maya pointed out. "Riley, relax. It's a quiz, not finals. You already know all your stuff."

"You're right," Riley agreed, closing her book. "I'm all set, but you're not. Either I'll help you or you can study by yourself, using your own notes for once."

Maya pouted, spitting her gum out. "Fine, Riley. I'll read over my notes, only once though, and that's it."

"That's all I ask."

Maya began rummaging through her bag to find her notebook to notice it wasn't there. "Riley, my history book's missing," she said, continuing her search. "Wait... So is my diary! Have you seen them?"

"No, I haven't," Riley responded, curiously approaching Maya to help her. "When did you see them last?"

"Today, at school," Maya said frantically. "Oh no, Riley, I think I lost them!"

"Maya, relax, they're probably in the lost and found."

Maya shot up from sitting, nervously pacing the room. "No, Riley, I can't relax!" she cried. "I don't think you realize that NOBODY can see that diary! We've come this far without having anyone realize, or at least talk about what happened last year and if someone finds it and reads it, you don't even know how embarrassing that'll be for me! I couldn't even tell you about it for 9 months, let alone have someone I barely know read it!"

Riley bit her lip, trying to think of a quick solution to this problem. "Okay, relax, um... Are you sure you checked everywhere?"

"I didn't take anything out of my bag since school," said Maya through gritted teeth as she began pacing the room. "Riley, this isn't good."

"Maya, you have to calm-"

"I can't calm down!" Maya interrupted. "Nobody could ever, ever find this! My deepest secrets are in there, Riley, and if word gets out about what happened last year then what was the point of moving?"

"Are you sure you didn't put it in my bag by accident?" Riley asked, ignoring Maya's previous question. "You do that sometimes."

Maya took a deep breath to sedate herself as she ran her fingers through her thick blond hair. "Uh," she started shakily. "N-no. I remember I put the diary in my bag yesterday when we went to Rick's and I didn't take it out when we got home. I took the same bag to school today and why would I take the diary out in school? The last place I want anyone finding it?"

Riley pursed her lips, trying to figure out what could've happened to the diary. "Well, I'll check my bag just in case, but..." she started as she began mentally developing an alternate scenario. "Could you have left it at Rick's yesterday? You didn't take it out at all when you got inside?"

"No, there's no way," Maya said, showing positivity and reassurance in her voice. "I didn't take it out... Just check your bag again. If it's not there, we can check the lost and found tomorrow... If not, someone probably stole it."

Riley crossed her fingers as she searched through her schoolbag in hopes of finding the diary. But of course, as she had expected, it was no where to be found.

"It's not there," she shrugged. "I'm sorry, Maya. Just don't worry too much, I bet that it's in the lost and found."

Maya sighed; Riley was right. She shouldn't overthink it since the diary was probably safe in the lost and found anyway. "Okay, fine," she agreed. "I'll let it go for tonight, but if it's not there tomorrow-"

"Then we can worry," Riley cut her off. "But you still have to study, use my notes for now."

Maya rolled her eyes. "Screw it," she said carelessly as she grabbed her laptop. "The Allies were the United States, France, England and China. That's all I need to know."

"What about Russia?" questioned Riley.

"They were with the Nazis, right?"

Riley laughed a little bit as she sighed. "No, they were totalitarian but were still against Germany, so they were with the Allies."

"Okay," nodded Maya, "and Hitler was the king of America back then, right?"

"Seriously?" asked Riley, raising her eyebrow. She knew Maya was a bad student, but she surely wasn't dumb.

Maya giggled, scrolling through nonsense on the Internet as she tried to trick her best friend. " Relax, Riles, I'm kidding," she laughed, adding sarcastically, "...but he was, wasn't he?"

Riley rolled her eyes as she sat next to Maya, curiously checking to see what she was looking at. "So, what did you get on Mr. Turner's paper?" she asked, breaking the silence.

"A fricken A+," Maya responded proudly, but then her expression changed from happy to upset. The idea of the paper was to write about your hero, and while most kids wrote about their favorite celebrity or a family member, Maya wrote about Shawn. He really was her hero; after all, he died trying to save her life. Even if her paper was written poorly, Mr. Turner probably had a soft spot for her since he was very close with Shawn and he knew that Maya went through a lot with him.

"Nice, Maya," Riley congratulated her. "I only got an A."

"Boo-yah," Maya smirked, trying to hide her feelings. "I'm catching up, Matthews."

Before Riley could say anything else, her heart nearly jumped out of her chest as she saw something pop up on Maya's laptop; Farkle was calling them to FaceTime. They hadn't been each other since the September before they parted ways when the Matthews left New York to return to Philadelphia.

"Maya, look!" she exclaimed, excitedly pointing to the screen.

"I see it, Riley, just answer it," Maya laughed, excited to see one of her old friends again. They kept in touch with each other, but just barely. Maybe this could be a start to planning a reunion.

It took a few moments for the connection to occur and the people on both sides of the line were anxiously awaiting to see their distant friends again. The screen turned fuzzy, but as it began to clear, Maya and Riley saw not only Farkle, but Lucas again for the first time in about five months.

"Maya! Riley!" Lucas exclaimed, smiling through the camera. "How are you guys?"

"Did it work? Did it work?" Farkle pestered curiously, peeking over Lucas's shoulder. "Oh, it did! Hiiiiiiii!"

"Farkle, Ranger Roy," Maya stated professionally, smiling back at the two boys.

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe it!" exclaimed Riley. "I missed you guys so much!"

"What's up at John Quincy Adams?"

Lucas laughed. "It's a lot quieter now, that's for sure," he chuckled. "I'm taking to you, Maya."

Maya rolled her eyes, knowing that no one could replace her old, rebellious self in Cory's history classes. "Of course you are, Bucky Mc Boing Boing," she teased. "Miss your nicknames?"

"Surprisingly, he does," Farkle pointed out. "Oh, and Brett says hi, too. He's not here though."

Riley glanced over to Maya to see what her friend's reaction would be to that. They never really talked about Brett anymore. Maya spent most of the previous year hating Brett since he betrayed her, even though she eventually forgave him since he tried so hard to make it up to her. She knew that Lucas and Farkle would be friends with him, but it still seemed weird to her.

"Oh," Maya responded blankly, since she had almost forgotten about Brett. "That's...cool."

"So, how's New York?" Riley changed the subject, clapping her hands together. "We really want to visit soon."

Farkle and Lucas exchanged glances before offering their invitation. "You know, Presidents Week is coming up soon and we'll be off from school," Farkle started. "Why don't you guys come down for the week?"

Maya and Riley smiled, nodding to each other. "Yeah, that would be great!" Riley smiled. "I really want to see you guys again!"

"Yea, and I have a whole new list of names for Mr. Rodeo," Maya smirked. "Can't wait!"

"So, what made you guys call?" Riley asked curiously.

Farkle scrunched his face as Lucas scratched the back of his head, sending mixed signals to the two girls. "Well, um..." Farkle started, his voice trailing off as he looked to Lucas for help.

"I got a text," Lucas said, cutting to the chase, pulling out his phone to read the message out loud. "It was anonymous and said 'I bet you missed little Miss Philadelphia around this time last year. Wouldn't wanna have to miss her again, would you? Better give her a heads up'... I don't know who it was or what it meant, but-"

Maya's eyes grew wide as her blood boiled with anger. Furiously, she slammed the laptop closed, ending the conversation. She had an idea of what happened.

"Maya, what was that for?" Riley asked, confusion evident in her voice. "He didn't finish, and you didn't even say goodbye!"

"Riley, someone stole the diary. Now I'm sure of it!" she cried as her face turned bright red. "I remember when I got a new phone, I wrote Lucas's number in my diary because there was no where else to write it and I didn't have my phone on me! I did that with a lot of people's... So whoever stole it found Lucas's number, read what I wrote about him and texted him! Plus they know we moved to Philadelphia and that I was missing last year..."

Riley's heart began pounding rapidly in her chest as she tried to look on the bright side. "Um, maybe it was just someone trying to mess with Lucas," she suggested. "I wouldn't worry about it too much."

"But it said to give me a heads up..." Maya began as tears began swelling in her eyes. It took a lot of effort to choke out, "Something's wrong, Riley, I'm scared."

Riley pulled her friend into a comforting embrace, trying to console Maya. "Maya, don't cry, it's okay," she hushed as Maya began crying into her shoulder. "We-we should tell my dad."

"No, don't. Let's not worry him, let's wait until we're positive it was stolen," Maya sniffed, wiping her eyes. "I guess we'll know tomorrow when we check the lost and found."

* * *

 **So, who do you think it was? What did you think of this chapter? What would you like to see next? Let me know how you felt in the reviews. Thanks for reading!**


	3. Watch Out

**AN: Hey, thanks for all of your reviews! I'm glad that you guys like the story so far. So here's chapter 3! Please read and review! Enjoy :)**

 **Disclaimed: I don't own GMW or it's characters**

It was a new day and Maya was sure of three things; she bombed her history quiz, the lunch special sucked and that her diary was definitely stolen.

As soon as she stepped foot into John Adams High that Tuesday morning, the frantic fourteen-year-old sprinted down to the lost and found to find nothing but her lonesome history book adjacent to some useless rulers or pencil sharpeners.

Since Maya noticed her diary was missing the same time as the notebook, she had no doubt in her mind that some idiot kindly returned the history book while greedily keeping the diary for themselves. When she would find out who that asshole was, she planned to grind there faces so hard into the ground that they won't be able to remember what country they lived in.

Nevertheless, she was still panicking over the disappearance of her diary. Cory and Topanga turned their whole lives upside down just to give her a better life and in only a matter of time, all of their sacrifices and hard work would be worthless once the word of her secretive past gets out around school. The Matthews moved to a different city- to a different state- just to help her. If Maya didn't get ahold of her diary soon, she would let them down.

"Maya, please, just try to let it go for now," pleaded Riley as the girls walked home from school later that day. "Maybe someone mistook it for their own. Maybe it'll be in the lost and found sometime later this week!"

Maya rolled her eyes, spitting her tasteless gum onto the sidewalk. "No, Riley, someone stole it," she muttered, annoyance evident in her voice. "I don't know if I should be just bothered or worried."

"There's nothing to worry about," Riley said, trying to remain cheerful and keep the mood light. "Please, just let it go. We've faced much worse than losing a stupid diary."

"Uh, sorry if I forgot to explain only a million times, but that diary's actually pretty important to me," Maya defended, crossing her arms. "It's not just a book, it's my memories. I wrote everything in there- the most personal and private information that I wouldn't even share with you."

Sighing, Riley grabbed her best friend's shoulders, looking her directly in the eye. "Maya," she said sternly, trying to make her point clear. "Don't worry. Let it go."

"But-"

"And if something happens," continued Riley, cutting Maya off before she could begin speaking. "That's when we'll panic. For now, there's nothing we can do, so just take a deep breath and relax."

While Riley expected Maya to get all defensive and argue against her point, she only laughed. "It used to be me telling you that," she snickered. "What happened to us?"

Riley smiled, exhaling very calmly and slowly. "What happened to us?" she repeated softly.

Maya pursed her lips and looked down, twiddling her thumbs, trying to change the basis of the conversation. "So, um..." she started, blurting out random words. "Are you excited to see Lucas and Farkle again soon?"

"Yes, of course!" Riley answered cheerily. "Although... I'm not so sure if that's definite yet. After all, you hung up with them the last time we spoke."

That's when Maya's train of thoughts went right back or worried mode. What about the text that Lucas got? They person who sent it knew she moved to Philadelphia, knew Lucas's phone number, knew she was missing, said that Lucas wouldn't want to miss her again and said to give her a 'heads up'. All of the information they needed to know was in the diary. No matter what happened to the diary, she had her reasons to be worried.

"Yeah, about that, we have to call them again," Maya said urgently, looking at Riley with big, frightened eyes. "Like, as soon as possible."

"Why?"

"Lucas knows something, Riley," Maya explained, pulling out her cell phone to call Lucas. "He got a text from someone knowing something about my story. I didn't get a chance to discuss it with him, and Riley, this could turn into something bad."

"Okay... Just, please please please don't stress out too much over this," Riley begged.

The girls took a seat on a nearby park bench as they were impatiently hanging on every ring, waiting for Lucas to answer the phone.

"Maya?" said a familiar Texan accent after a few seconds of silence passed. "What's up? Why did you hang up yesterday?"

"Lucas, I need to ask you something important," Maya said in a serious and straightforward voice. "What do you think that text meant?"

Lucas gulped heavily as his palms began to clam up. He knew that there was something off with what was sent to him; very off. It almost reminded him of the texts Maya and Cory would receive the previous year.

"Maya, I don't want to scare you..." he started very carefully, not wanting to trigger Maya's liability to freak out. "But there was something wrong... Especially since..."

Maya's eyes grew wide. "Since what?" she repeated. "Especially since what?!"

"Especially since... Farkle received one too."

Riley leaned in closer to Maya, trying to hear the conversation since they were in public and couldn't put the phone on speaker. "He... What?" she joined in.

"I don't want to worry you, but being your stubborn selves you won't let me hang up without telling you what it said," Lucas said nervously; he knew that Riley and Maya needed to know what was going on. After all, it was their story, their past and evidently their future.

However, he still felt wrong- guilty, even, telling Maya over the phone. "You know, I could just tell your dad..."

"My adoptive dad, thank you very much," Maya corrected him. "And no, you can't just say you'd tell me, leave me hanging and then just decide not to tell me. Please?"

Lucas sighed heavily, summoning Farkle over to him. "Fine, if you insist," he agreed. "Here, Farkle will tell you."

Maya and Riley waited impatiently as Farkle took over the other end of the line. "Ladies," he said in the same, flirty voice he would use in 7th grade just for old times sake, but the girls weren't in the mood to reminisce.

"Not now, Farkle," Riley moaned, taking the phone from Maya's hands and holding it between both girls' ears. "Can you please tell us what the text said?"

Farkle nodded, pulling out his cell phone to read the message aloud. "It was from an anonymous number," he inferred. "Okay, it's kind of creepy. It says, 'This day one year ago, Little Miss Philadelphia got a phone call from Little Miss Philadelphia #2, aka Riley Matthews. She didn't get to speak to her or her fellow classmates, who realized she was taken away. Wouldn't want that to happen again, huh? Or to #2? Oh, I love this diary'."

Maya's heart momentarily stopped beating in her chest and sunk into her stomach. The diary really was stolen, and whoever stole it was either an asshole or an evil genius. She couldn't tell at the moment, for it was as if her brain cells forgot how to function. She wasn't sure if she was scared, angry or simply pissed off, but all she knew was that she could be in serious danger again.

"I don't know what the last part meant," Farkle continued, unaware that Maya was zoned out in terror. "But it seems weird... Actually, very weird if you think about it. You have to tell someone, guys, this is really freaky."

"Farkle!" scolded Riley, feeling the same uneasiness and fear as Maya. "Why didn't you tell us this sooner?! You might be a genius but come on, couldn't you figure out that this is probably something that should be police-related?"

"I'm sorry, Riley," Farkle replied bluntly. "I didn't really read it thoroughly until now. This is bad."

"So the diary was stolen," Maya added, using all of her might to fight back tears from flowing out. "Great! All of my secrets, all do my personal information... It could be exploited or used against me..."

"What diary?" Lucas asked, contributing to the conversation.

Maya bit her lip, glancing worriedly towards Riley. What should she say? _You're acting like a child Maya,_ said the little voice inside her head. _It's just a stupid book, plus, lots of people have diaries._

But the single voice wasn't enough to shake off Maya's worries. "It... Doesn't matter," she lied, trying to hide her emotions dictating every thought in her mind. "Lucas... I have to go. I'll call you later."

Without waiting for a responding goodbye, she hung up the phone. "Maya, we have to tell my mom or dad right away," said Riley frantically. Although she had to remain calm for Maya's sake, she was internally freaking out. If this wasn't a prank and it was a serious threat, her best friend's life could be on stake again; and since the anonymous messenger mentioned 'number 2' as well, her own life could be in danger as well.

"Yea, let's go home," Maya said shakily, running her fingers through her thick blond hair, just barely managing to whimper, "Riley... I'm scared."

"Maya, we'll... We'll figure this out, okay?" Riley answered, although her voice completely demonstrated distress and uncertainty. "Come on, we're almost home."

* * *

"Wait, WHAT?" Cory roared, shooting up from sitting after the petrified Riley and Maya told him the news. "Tell me again."

Maya's lips quivered and her eyes brimmed with tears as she opened her mouth to speak, but her throat was dry. Seeing how angry Cory was, she couldn't find the words or out everything into. "Well... You see, we called... Ugh."

"Lucas got a threatening text and so did Farkle, Dad," Riley stated, cutting to the chase as she noticed how upset Maya was getting. "Please, just don't freak out."

"Girls, this is serious," Topanga piped in, exchanging worried glances with her husband. "Riley, have Lucas and Farkle forward this messages to you. We have to see them for ourselves."

"Topanga, what if it wasn't worth it?" Maya wondered aloud, burying her head into Topanga's motherly embrace. "What if moving all the way to Pennsylvania was a waste? What if this turns into something bad and-"

"Shh, honey, don't worry just yet," Topanga hushed, kissing her adoptive daughter's forehead. "We'll take care of this."

Following her mother's orders, Riley turned on her phone to ask Lucas and Farkle to forward the texts to her, but something else caught her attention; an anonymous message appearing on her notifications.

"I'm coming for #1. Watch out, #2."

 **I know this was short, but I hope you liked it! Let me know how you felt and what you'd like to see next in the reviews :)**

 **PS- happy belated Fourth of July to all you Americans out there!**


	4. The Blizzard

**AN: Hey, thank you all for your sweet and encouraging reviews, they really mean a lot to me. Huge shoutout to my friend, Stay Gold - Pebblemist for cowriting this chapter with me. Go check out her stories!**

 **Anyway, enjoy chapter 4. Please review :)**

 **Disclaimer- this may come as a surprise but I don't own GMW. Shocker, right?**

Cory took a deep breath, trying to control his raging emotions. The phone shook in his trembling hand, cold on his ear as he waited for a response from the police officer on the other end of the line.

He could hear the scratching of a pencil, probably writing the contents of the threatening texts- the very same ones that sat in front of him, Riley's phone laying on the table.

"Alright," said the gruff voice of the officer, finally reaching Cory's ears. "We got it. Do you have any idea who could be sending the texts?"

"No," Cory said shakily. That was part what bothered him the most. Rick was dead; who else could be sending the messages? "There's no one any of us can think of..." his voice trailed off as his uncertainty grew.

"I see..." the officer said. "Did he have any relatives you are aware of?"

"Uh... Yes," Cory answered, trying to widen the horizons of his thoughts. "He had a sister and a niece... But both had passed. He had a girlfriend who's currently in jail and... And that's all I could think of at the moment."

The officer sighed, feeling defeated by whoever was responsible for the messages. "I'm sorry, Mr. Matthews," he apologized sincerely as he skimmed through the files of former criminal Richard Daniels. "But there's not much that we can do for now. The culprit seems to be using an anonymous number on a flip phone since we cannot track it down. If you or anyone you know receive anymore disturbing messages, don't hesitate to contact us."

Cory closed his eyes slowly as pure anger began flowing in his veins. Words couldn't describe how pissed off he was; just when he thought his family was finally safe, they were faced with serious threats involving Maya's already toyed-with safety. Why couldn't he be able to protect her? And now Riley was potentially being targeted as well... All he wanted was to know what was going on and how he could defend the people he loved.

"Thank you for your help, Officer," Cory mumbled before ending the conversation.

All of the emotions and concerns that soared through his mind were slowly crawling back to him. Maya's safety, anonymous text messages- he didn't know much, but he was positive that if this problem wasn't solved immediately, another Rick Daniels could enter and damage his family's lives.

"Everything will be okay," Topanga whispered softly from behind him. She moved forward, massaging her husband's back in what was meant to be a soothing way. Cory looked up at her with tears brimming in his eyes: how could she possibly be sure of that?

"How do you know?" he choked out, his voice hurt. When she didn't respond, he sighed.

"Honey?" Topanga said, trying to grab her husband's attention after a few moments of silence between the two. "Don't stress out over this. It isn't last time. For now, just play it by ear. See what becomes of the situation before your anxiety gets ahold of you."

Cory bit his lip, knowing that she was right. His anxiety tended get the best of him when he couldn't sedate his emotions. He wanted to believe Topanga that everything would be okay; however, his natural instinct told him otherwise. The mysteriousness of the texts really clung to every worrying thought in his mind.

"Topi, you don't understand," he said, disappointment evident in his voice. "All Maya's life, she felt unsafe and lived in fear. I had to be there to protect her but I always ended up letting her down. Now when she finally feels as if she's living a stable and happy life, this happens... I don't want to let her down again."

Topanga rested her head in the crock of Cory's neck, rubbing his back soothingly. "Babe, you never, ever let her down," she said reassuringly. "Maya always viewed you as her hero and she admires you so much. If it weren't for you, she could still be treated terribly by her mother, miserable while still in captivity- Honey, she could be dead. But she's not, because you were there for her. That little girl is so grateful for you, more than you'll ever know. Don't be so hard on yourself."

Cory gently kissed the top of his wife's hair, holding her as passionately as he always did when he needed her the most. "How did we ever get in to this position?" he laughed softly. "Everything was normal until a year ago."

Topanga sighed, shaking her head. "I don't know," she breathed. "I honestly don't... define 'normal.'"

That earned a soft chuckle from Cory. "Exactly my point... Maya deserves to be able to live a normal life, but..." his voiced trailed off as he remembered the events of the past year.

"It seems like just yesterday Riley and Maya were running around the apartment singing 'Fabulous' from 'High School Musical'," Topanga said as if reading his thoughts.

Cory nodded- he'd never forget the terrified look on Maya's face as Katy took her home to have some "fun". There was a point he thought that might've been the last time he'd ever see her.

"I know..." He replied, his voice hoarse. "I know..."

He could distinctly remember the thoughts running wild in his mind when he saw Maya's bruised face when she walked into their apartment with a huge smile on her face, trying to come off as strong and carefree. He could remember talking or her after class about her home life and seeing the girl wincing away from him, begging him the very words 'please don't hurt me'.

"Do you remember how Riley reacted after Maya went missing?" Topanga asked, bringing up one of the toughest day of her motherhood.

Cory nodded slowly, closing his eyes. He could remember every detail of that day, the day that would change his family's lives forever.

 _"Riley, Riley, shhhh,"consoled Topanga. "Honey, I know that this must be hard, but you'll make it through."_

 _"No, I won't!" screeched Riley. "This is a dream! This is all just a dream!"_

 _Cory finally let the tears fall from his eyes at the sight of his daughter storming back to her room, hysterically crying._

Cory swallowed hard, trying as hard as he possibly could to push the terrible memory out of his mind. He was successful for the most part, though another memory resurfaced.

"Those were the hardest few months of my life," he said. "Maya... I remember the day we found her..."

Topanga nodded, placing a comforting hand on her husband's shoulder. Perhaps reflecting on the past year at such a time wasn't the best idea.

But there was no stopping Cory now.

"I couldn't believe it," he breathed. "If Eric hadn't given those bad directions..." He didn't even want to think about it.

"I don't think anyone could've found her," Topanga added, letting go of her thoughts to stop reminiscing; she found it somewhat comforting. It reminded her that even when the worst was upon her family, they managed to get through.

Cory clenched his fists and his muscles tightened at the sound of Topanga's words; what if no one found her? What if it was too late and no one was able to save her in time? Although there was no need to fret anymore, Cory couldn't imagine how guilty and heartbroken he would've been if Maya was still gone- he didn't even want to know how he would've reacted if Maya was found dead.

"That bastard was threatening to kill her when I got to the house," Cory muttered through gritted teeth- the memory brought back the very anger he had felt when he found out how awful Rick was to her. "Imagine, if I were just a little bit later than that..."

"Shh," Topanga hushed, sensing how tense her husband was getting. She wrapped her arms around his neck from behind, gently kissing his cheek.

"You should've seen her face, Topi," Cory continued. "Pure terror. But when she looked up at me... When she saw me for the first time in so long... She had so much hope in her eyes. That's when I knew that I would get her out of that living hell or die trying."

"That poor girl," Topanga cooed, tears swelling in her eyes at the thought of all of the struggles life poured onto Maya the past 14 years. "She's... Oh, Cory, how could anyone that young be so strong?"

Cory shrugged, looking into his wife's glassy eyes. "She has us," he answered bluntly. "Riley to talk to her, me to protect her, Auggie to make her laugh, and you... You, Topanga, she has you. You do all of those things. You comfort her, you inspire her, you guide her... You're such an amazing mother to her, Topanga, biologically or not."

Topanga smiled inwardly, pecking Cory on the lips. "Thank you," she said softly. "You see, honey? As long as Maya has us, she'll be okay. So will Riley. You don't have to worry."

"I know you're right," Cory said with a soft sigh. "I just... I can't shake the feeling that something bad is about to happen to both of our girls, no matter how good of parents we are..."

"Whatever happens, we'll get through this," Topanga reassured him, her voice firm. "I know we will."

Cory looked at her- the way her eyes gleamed with the fierce protectiveness of a mother, like she would risk everything to make sure her children, both biological and adoptive, were kept safe. He would do the same in a heartbeat.

"Topi..." he breathed, but said no more, words lost to him.

"It's going to be okay, Cory."

Cory reassuringly smiled at his wife, grasping her hand. "We've always seemed to have made it through the worst, huh?"

"Yea, we always have," Topanga agreed. "And we always will. As long as we love our kids with all our hearts and are there for them every step do the way through every challenge, we'll be alright."

"We do have the best kids, not to brag," laughed Cory, lightening the mood for the two of them. "And that's MY work."

"Um, excuse me?" Topanga gasped sarcastically as a smile blossomed on her lips. "I don't think you realize that-"

She was interrupted as her two daughters burst into the bedroom that she shared with Cory with expressions on their faces that made them seem to have forgotten all about the text messages.

"Hallelujah, no school tomorrow," Maya proclaimed happily, plopping herself down on the bed right next to Topanga.

"Seriously?" Cory reaffirmed excitedly, shooting up from sitting. Even teachers rejoiced when school was canceled last minute- their work is just as excruciating as a student's. "Wait... Are you just messing with me again?"

"Would we ever lie about there not being school?" Riley asked, putting on her best perfect-little-angel face and giving a sweet smile. She seemed to rethink that, giving Maya a look before switching her words. "Er, would I ever lie about it?"

Cory chuckled a bit, temporarily forgetting about the texts. "No, I guess not... Unless Maya put you up to it," he said, shooting the blonde a joking glare.

"Ah, come on," Maya said with an amused smile, crossing her arms. "You don't believe us?"

"Is there school tomorrow or not, girls?" Topanga interjected, holding back laughter at her family's little banter.

Riley looked at her. "There isn't, honest."

"Here's proof," Maya said, showing her adoptive parents the email that the principal of John Adams High sent informing the students and faculty that school would be canceled for Wednesday due to a blizzard watch.

"Oh, praise The Lord," Cory exclaimed, giving high-fives to his two daughters. "I think we all need a little break."

"It also says that as far as they know about the storm, school could be out for the whole week," Riley added, beaming with excitement. "I'm hoping that it'll snow for, I don't know, two weeks tops?"

Topanga slightly shook her head as she smiled at how happy her family was despite everything they were going through. "Auggie!" she called, not wanting her son to miss out on the laughter. "Come here!"

"What's going on?" said the young, curly-haired 6 year old as he wandered through the door.

"No school tomorrow, Auggie!" Maya shouted as she and Riley began prancing in circles around the room like little kids.

"Let's celebrate," Cory suggested. "Since it's not snowing yet and it's supposed to start later tonight, who wants to go out for pizza?" This earned a bunch of unanimous 'yeses' from the rest of the family and they all practically sprinted out the door since their energy levels were so high.

* * *

"Who else is stuffed?" Maya asked as she flopped onto the couch with a satisfied sigh. The rest of the family joined her.

"Meee!" they chorused in unison.

Riley laughed. "We're obviously not nearly as stuffed as you, though. Four pieces of pizza? Really?"

"Hey, I was hungry!" Maya defended.

"Oh, really? I couldn't te-" a gentle knock on the door derailed her train of thought. As they were coming in, the roads had been closing in preparation for the storm. Who could this possibly be?

Maya curiously opened the door and when she came face to face who was at their doorstep her heart took flight. Joshua Matthews, or 'Uncle Boing' to her. However, for once, it wasn't him who made her eyes hurt, but the other young man standing beside him. If Josh was a student for being gorgeous, the other boy was the teacher.

"Hola, familia," Josh greeted in a Spanish accent, stepping into the Matthews household to escape the bitter cold air.

"Oh my gosh, Josh, come in!" Topanga exclaimed, welcoming her brother-in-law into her home. "What a surprise!"

"What brings you here, my brother?" Cory asked, taking the boys' coats.

"Spencer and I were kicked off the roads by the crummy police because of road closure and we're stuck here in Philly," Josh explained as Topanga led him to the living room. "Since Ma and Pops are away I figured we'd come here."

"Well, you can stay here for as long as you need," Cory offered.

"Spencer," Maya whispered dreamily, examining every detail of his irresistible face. He was tall and toned with dark brown/black hair with sparkling green eyes. His skin was slightly tanned and adorable freckles spread across his cheeks.

"Josh and I met at NYU in the fall," Spencer explained after introducing himself to the family, "but I dropped out last month. I majored in engineering but I wasn't passionate about it enough. I've always wanted to be an artist and if you don't like what you're doing, why do it?"

Maya smiled at the handsome boy sitting next to her as she discretely scooted closer to him. "Really? You like art?"

Spencer shot her a charming smile, his perfect eyes glazing into hers. "Yea, I've loved it for as long as I could remember," his deep and masculine voice replied. "What about you?'

"Maya's the greatest artist in the world," Riley interjected, speaking for her friend.

"Wow, really?" Spencer asked happily, the sweet and gorgeous smile never leaving his lips. "Well, depending on the storm, if I'm stuck here for a while, maybe we could paint together sometime."

Maya pursed her lips and tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear as her cheeks flushed bright red. "Um... Yea," Maya responded, having trouble breathing. It took everything she had to control her flying emotions. "That would be great!"

It seemed as if Uncle Boing lost his boing.

 **There's chapter 4! I hope you liked it. Please review and let me know how you felt or what you'd like to see next. And how do you like Spencer? Until next time...**


	5. Chemistry

**Author's Note- I'm so so sorry for the late update! I've been pretty busy but I promise I'll be updating more quickly from now on. Thanks for your patience. Enjoy chapter 5!**

 **Disclaimer~~ I don't own Girl Meets World**

* * *

It may have been blustery and frozen outside but Maya Hart was warm and cozy. It could've been the delightful family fun of building a fort out of pillows and sleeping in it in the den or maybe it could've been sipping on Topanga's piping hot chocolate, but maybe it was that Hart's heart was being gradually tugged at by her new man candy.

Josh and Spencer had been stuck in the Matthews household for the night and it wouldn't be likely for them to be leaving anytime soon. The principle of John Adams had decided to close the school for the rest of the week, much to Cory, Riley and Maya's pleasure. It could've been one of Philadelphia's worst blizzards for all they've seen so far and the storm was still raging on.

But even with the roads closed and the city practically shut down, there was still plentiful amounts of work for the family to do. Cory graded tests, Topanga was busy paying the monthly bills, Josh was studying for an upcoming exam and Riley was doing homework. Of course Maya was invited to join her, but Maya being Maya, she declined. She wouldn't even bother doing homework on a school night- what possibly could've made Riley think she would do it when she had five full days of relaxation ahead of her?

"Maya," said a hushed voice, tapping on the door to Maya's bedroom. Maya's head jerked up from her laptop and a smile crept across her face to see Spencer standing at her doorway.

"Oh, hey," she greeted him, trying her best to play it cool.

Spencer flashed her one of his charming grins before slowly making his way over to the bed where Maya was sitting. "Where's Riley?" he asked curiously, taking note that the young blonde was alone.

"She's in the basement doing homework," Maya responded, closing her laptop and gazing into Spencer's green eyes. How could anyone be so perfect in physical appearance? "I could've joined her, but quite frankly, I absolutely loathe school."

Spencer laughed softly. "I know the feeling," he replied bluntly. "Teachers think that when we go to the store to buy a shirt, the price tag will say 'pi divided by x times the square root of 235'. Sorry if I failed the math test, teacher, but I won't fail at life because of that."

This earned a chuckle from Maya, who's heart felt as if flying 150 miles per hour. Who would've known that Mr. Man Candy had a sense of humor too?

"I hate math," she groaned; the word 'math' alone was enough to fill her with annoyance. "And science, sometimes English, definitely Spanish, but I never really seemed to mind history."

"Ah, well, I was never partial to that subject," Spencer shrugged. "But isn't Mr. Matthews your history teacher? He's basically your dad, right?"

"Yeah, I guess he's officially my dad now, since the Matthews adopted me a few months ago," Maya nodded, breaking eye contact with the gorgeous boy before her. She knew that since she brought up being adopted, Spencer would want to know her backstory leading to why she was adopted. Would he view her differently? After all, she'd only just met the guy.

"Well, they seem like really nice people," Spencer spoke softly. "I never really knew what it was like to have a family like them."

Maya glanced into his eyes as that statement grabbed her attention. "Really?" she asked, curious and shocked that this seemingly perfect boy didn't have a perfect home life.

Spencer nodded his head, breathing slower than usual. "My parents divorced when I was young; maybe three or four years old. I lived with my dad and he would always talk crap about my mom, which is a lot for a little boy to handle. I honestly loved my mom a lot more, but my dad would barely ever let me visit her."

"My parents are split too," Maya breathed softly, twiddling her thumbs. "They were never married, but I know where you're coming from. Growing up with a single parent isn't easy."

Spencer sighed, lowering his head.

"But... Do you still live with your dad?"

"No," Spencer shook his head.

"Then... Can you visit your mom more often now?"

Spencer rotated his eyes to look back into Maya's. "I can't," he choked- there weren't any tears in his eyes but he still had to fight to hold back sobs. "She... Died last year... That's why it's so hard to think about now. All those years I should've been with her, I wasn't because of my selfish father."

"Spencer... I am so sorry..." Maya apologized sincerely, her eyes gleaming with sincerity and compassion.

"No, don't be," Spencer sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "My dad got remarried and my stepmom's real nice and all... Besides, I was never that close with my real mother. And don't you dare feel sorry for me. I... I know your story."

Maya's eyes grew wide open.

"You know?" she whispered hoarsely. Of course, her story had to follow her everywhere. The boy who she felt herself falling in love with knew- how could he possibly view her the way she viewed him now?

Spencer nodded, gently placing his hand over Maya's. "Josh told me," he replied. "Maya, I'm really sor-"

"No, stop."

"Maya, just... You're really strong to have gone through all of that."

Maya smiled inwardly, making the same mistake of gazing back into Spencer's sparkling eyes. Once more, she fell lost in them and her body felt weak and numb. He was so sweet and charming yet so powerful at the same time. He had the power to make the simple yet foolish words slip from the helpless Maya's mouth;

"I like you."

 _Shit, why did you say that to him?_ Maya mentally scolded herself while squeezing her eyes shut. She dug her fingernails deep into her thighs, trying to induce as much pain as possible or express the newfound anger and disgust with herself. _Way to scare off a guy, Maya. You're just like Mom was now when it comes to guys, aren't you? Now whenever you see him it'll be awkward for the both of you. You blew it. Way to go, Maya. Stop being so stupid._

Spencer scratched the back of his neck as his cheeks flushed deep red. "Oh," his shocked voice let slip. "You-you do, huh? You like me?"

"No," Maya blurted rather loudly. She faked a laugh, but inside she was frankly mortified. "No, no, no. I like talking to you. That's what I meant."

Spencer chuckled awkwardly while nodding as if he understood. "Alrighty," he laughed, his cheeks still blushing. "Well, I like talking to you too, Hart. We have a good chemistry, don't we?"

Maya faked a smile and exhaled heavily, biting her lip as she gently scooted away.

"Well, I guess I should start on my homework," she sighed, using this as an excuse to remove herself from the awkward situation she deeply regretted ever causing.

"I thought you didn't care about school," Spencer countered.

Maya shrugged. "Well, I don't, but school cares about me."

"That doesn't really make sense."

"Then maybe I'll learn some sense through my education."

"You literally just said you hated school."

"I literally just changed my mind."

"I'm literally not believing that."

"Well, I literally just discretely told you to get your ass out. Mmkay?"

"Literally?"

"Literally."

Spencer chuckled softly and that melted Maya's heart all over again. "You're feisty, Hart."

Maya smiled deviously. "And proud. Tell me something I don't know."

"Okay, here's something you don't know." Spencer raised a thick eyebrow. "I have watercolors in my backpack and a little birdy told me that you're a pretty good artist."

"Aw, you have watercolors? How cute," Maya fake-pouted. "Aww, I bet you have the Crayola kind with every color of the rainbow and the adorable little paintbrush, don't you? Well, I have exactly 67 acrylic paints, 32 brushes and a shelf of canvasses in my art room in the attic. Yeah, _my_ art room. Care to join me?"

Maybe it was his perfect smile that made her weak, it could've been his sparkly eyes. But Maya knew the real reason was that he could distract her from the texts. After all, how couldn't he? She meant what she said- she really liked talking to him.

"Nah, I'd rather just make a little sun on the top right corner on my paper with sunglasses and a smiley face with a strip of blue going across the top for the sky and a little rainbow underneath," Spencer mocked.

Maya raised her eyebrows.

"I'm kidding, Maya."

"Oh, wow, you _literally_ got me there."

Seems as if lovestruck little Maya could finally stand her own with this Prince Charming.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading and please leave a review of how you felt! Do you like the Maya/Spencer relationship? What do you wanna see in later chapters? Feel free to make any suggestions. I'd also like to hear your general opinions of the story so far. Until next time...**


	6. Paint Fight

**Hey everyone, thank you so much for all of your support and positive feedback! I'm beyond happy that people are liking this story. Sorry for the lack of updates- I might start doing short but frequent chapters instead of long ones you would have to wait for. Thanks and enjoy this chapter!**

 **Disclaimer- I don't own GMW**

* * *

It must've been over five hours the two were up painting the attic and Maya cherished every second of it. Just her and Spencer, talking and laughing with each other, sharing stories and exchanging bits and pieces of their personalities as her mind was totally distracted from the idea of the threats she had been receiving lately. Her mind and thoughts were somehow at peace and everything just seemed so perfect during those five hours.

"Are you finished yet?" Spencer asked Maya as he added one last finishing touch to his painting.

"Yeah, what did you make?" Maya answered, tidying up her area after paints fell to make bright splashes on the wooden floor and brushes were scattered all around. "What was your big idea that you couldn't show or tell me until you were finished?"

Spencer chuckled softly before turning his canvas for Maya to see what he'd been working on. She stared at it for a moment, examining its immaculate details. She admired Spencer's artistic ability yet she felt the need to mock him for his mediocre- less than mediocre creativity.

"A chair?" she questioned with a small laugh, raising a thick eyebrow as she crossed her arms.

"Yeah," Spencer shrugged, scratching the back of his head and thinking nothing of his simple picture. "What did you make?"

"Oh, just a little something with vibrant color, rich in passion and a serene depiction of the city that never sleeps," Maya described before revealing her painting of the New York City skyline at sunset.

Spencer's eyes widened as he approached Maya's work, captivated by every inch of the canvas. It was easily the most impressive paintings- more like masterpieces- that he'd ever seen a 14 year old create.

"It's flawless, Maya," he complimented bluntly as Maya's cheeks flushed to a rosy pink color matching the sky of her painting. "How are you so talented?"

"Thanks," Maya giggled quietly, tucking a strand of loose hair behind her ear as her eyes were drawn away from the painting. "I usually just paint whatever I feel strongly of... Right now I just miss the city, I guess."

She missed New York more than anything; after all, it was her home. She was born and raised there. Despite all of the commotion and devastation that occurred while she was living in Manhattan, there was no place in the world she would rather be.

Spencer nodded, fully understanding how she felt. "I know," he mumbled quietly. "You know, I usually paint what I feel strongly about too."

"Oh, so you feel strongly about a chair?"

Spencer sighed, shaking his head. "Yes, Maya. I feel strongly about a chair."

"I'm personally more of a couch girl but I feel you."

The two laughed after another little round of their back and forth sarcasm. "Well, you're an amazing artist," Spencer said truthfully as the playfulness died down. "Riley was right."

Maya smiled inwardly towards the ground, rocking back and forth on her heels. "Thank you, you are too," she said. "Although your amount creativity is a shame..."

"Oh, it is?" Spencer questioned as an idea popped to his mind, smiling mischievously. "Because I have another little masterpiece planned and I know you'll love it."

"I will, huh?"

Spencer cocked his eyebrows with the same evil grin stretched across his face. "Oh yeah," he nodded before flicking his brush and splashing green paint onto Maya's face.

Maya didn't laugh, yell, shriek or budge- she simply just smiled back. "Oh so you want to play this game?" she pressed, dipping both of her hands into purple paint. Without another word escaping her lips, she grabbed Spencer's spotless face and wiped her hands all over it until not a speck of skin was showing.

"Ooh, that wasn't the smartest move, Hart," Spencer teased before opening a bottle of paint and pouring the whole thing onto the top of Maya's blond hair, starting a full-on battle between the two.

"Spencer!" Maya squealed of laughter before counter attacking with blue and before long, both friends became a human rainbow of colors.

After about two minutes of wasting paint and staining clothes, Spencer was finally finished. "Maya, stop it!"

"Oh, raising a white flag?" Maya asked rather loudly, not obeying Spencer's request. "Here, let me paint you one!"

"Maya, no!" Spencer pleaded, but it was too late- she had already dumped a load of white paint onto his head.

Maya laughed but turned dead quiet at the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. "Maya! Spencer!" called Riley, oblivious to the mess she was yet to find herself standing before. "Dinners ready... Oh my god, what happened in here?!"

"Oh, we totally didn't get into a paint fight if that's what you suspected," Maya responded sarcastically.

Riley chuckled inwardly, rolling her eyes. "Maya, why again?" she asked, reminiscing of the day she got into the same situation.

"Because you were too busy to beat when we did it," Maya smirked. "Go back downstairs, we'll clean this up."

"How can we possibly get rid of this mess?" Spencer wondered aloud as Riley left the room, completely regretting his whole idea for a 'paint fight'. "I mean, look at the floor!"

Maya shrugged. "I've done it once, I can do it again," she assumed before hearing a notification from her phone. After checking her messages, her heart, body and mind suddenly froze. Spencer couldn't save her from being worried anymore. The anonymous number finally reached her.

 _Tick tock, tick tock. Watch out, Miss Philadelphia. You're little 'story' isn't quite over yet._

With a shaky breath and trembling hands, Maya knew she had to go to New York.

* * *

 **Hope you liked it! How do you feel about this story so far? Until next time...**


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